Shrines with Images or Relics.
The reputation, again, of many shrines rests on the assumed discovery, generally by means of a dream, that an ancient image or the bones of a martyr were buried on the spot, and in their honour a shrine was established. Thus, the great temple at Bandakpur in the Damoh District owes its origin to the fact that a Pandit in 1781 A.D. dreamed a dream, that in a certain spot lay buried in the earth an image of Jagîswar Mahâdeva, and that if he built a suitable temple over the place indicated, the image would make its appearance. On the strength of this dream the Pandit built a temple, and it is asserted that in due course of time the image developed itself without the aid of man.[93] So, the Bhairava temple on the Langûr peak owes its establishment to a cowherd having found on the spot a yellow-coloured stick, which on his attempting to cut it with an axe, poured out drops of blood. Frightened at the sight, the cowherd fled, only to be visited at night by the god in his terrible form, who commanded him to set up his shrine here. A similar legend is attached to the Nârâyana image in Nepâl.[94] The celebrated shrine of Hanumân at Beguthiya was discovered by a wandering ascetic,[95] and a Gûjar cowboy is said not very long ago to have found in one of the Sahâranpur jungles the image of the goddess Sâkambarî Devî, which now attracts large numbers of worshippers. The Mahârâja of Balrâmpur some time ago noticed a rude shrine of Bijleswarî Devî, the goddess of lightning, and remarked that he would build a handsome temple in honour of her, were it not for the sacred banyan tree which shaded it and prevented the erection of the spire to the proper height. That very night the tree was uprooted by a hurricane, and a handsome temple was erected, this manifestation of her power having made the goddess more popular than ever.[96]
Mistakes are, however, sometimes made. This was the case some time ago at Ajudhya, where certain images were discovered and worshipped, until a learned Pandit ascertained that they were actually the deities of the aboriginal Bhars, who used to sacrifice Brâhmans to them. They were really Jaina images, but it is needless to say that their worship was immediately abandoned.[97]
As is only natural, shrines which have been discovered in this way at the outset rest under a certain degree of suspicion, and have to make their reputation by works of healing and similar miracles. If they fail to do so they sink into disrepute. Such was the case with a very promising shrine, supposed to be that of the saint Ashraf ’Ali, whose bones were found accidentally not long ago at Ahraura in the Mirzapur District. It enjoyed considerable reputation for a time, but failing to maintain its character, was finally discredited and abandoned.
Continuous respect is naturally accorded to ancient saints and local godlings, who have long since established their claim to recognition by a series of exhibitions of their thaumaturgic virtues. But the competition is so keen and the pecuniary value of a successful institution of this kind so considerable, that the claims of any interloper must be well tested and approved before it establishes its position and succeeds in attracting pilgrims.